Hope almost instantly completed the forced Take Over of "Keis's Soul". The control over the 'Deathly Curse' brands on Silver and Jellal was immediately and seamlessly transferred to him.
Everything happened too fast.
Only when they saw the skeletal body of the deathly demon shatter inch by inch before their eyes did the two living dead finally react.
Hope casually shook his hand and turned to Silver, a relaxed smile on his face. "Done. Now your 'battery' is in my hands. But don't worry, I'm not interested in controlling you, and I won't casually flip the switch to make you fall apart."
Silver stared blankly at the ashes Keis had turned into, scattering in the wind, then looked down at his own hands.
That feeling of being bound deep within his soul at all times had vanished.
To be more precise, its source had changed.
He could clearly feel the energy maintaining his body's activity still operating steadily, but it was completely different from the previous feeling of being a puppet on strings.
Hope's attitude towards him was merely a gentle "maintenance", not the malicious "control" Keis had exerted.
"Thank you."
Silver's Voice was hoarse, his gaze towards Hope filled with complex emotions. This young man was powerful beyond reason, and his way of doing things was even more unpredictable and unrestrained.
All these years in Tartaros, he had been cautious everywhere, hoping for the day he could take revenge on the demons, yet he had to suppress his hatred because of his connection to the deathly demon.
He never expected that obstacle to be resolved so effortlessly by Hope.
Hope shrugged. "Old man, Gray is on Tenrou Island. You can go see him with peace of mind now."
The moment he heard his son's name, Silver's Adam's apple bobbed. It seemed he had a thousand words, yet didn't know where to start.
In his current state, could he be considered alive?
A cold body maintained by Demon Curse... did he really have the right to see his son again?
Jellal watched quietly from the side. He could understand Silver's conflicted feelings. Wasn't he himself carrying a heavy past, walking a lonely path of atonement?
Just as these two guys were suddenly getting sentimental, the crisp sounds of cracking ice erupted one after another.
The first to break free from the ice was Kyoka. Her 'Self Enhancement' ability, which she constantly released, allowed her to grow stronger at all times, so she quickly broke free.
Immediately after, Storm, Esel, Jackal, and Trafusa each used their own methods to completely shatter the ice encasing them into powder.
Pairs of furious crimson eyes locked firmly onto Hope.
"Keis... was actually killed!"
Kyoka's face was terrifyingly dark. Her gaze swept over Silver and Jellal. Seeing the glow of Curse Power still operating on them, she instantly understood something and gritted her teeth, "Silver! Jellal! You dare betray Lord Underworld!"
Silver slowly raised his head, icy blue light in his eyes. "Betrayal? I have never been loyal to demons. Isn't that something you and Lord Underworld have known all along?"
He took a step forward. A biting chill spread out from him, instantly freezing the ground beneath his feet. "Now, it's time to settle old scores."
Jellal silently moved his position, forming a pincer formation with Silver, subtly surrounding the remaining five demons. Even as living dead, the combat prowess and sharp aura of a Ten Wizard Saint Mage remained.
The tension between the two sides was thick. Just as they were about to clash, Hope stepped forward. "Uncle Silver, you two go destroy hells core. Leave this place to me."
Silver paused for a moment, but thinking of the power Hope had displayed earlier, he immediately headed towards the depths of Underworld Island. As one of the Nine Demon Gates, he naturally knew the location and function of hells core.
And perhaps he might even encounter other demons who had died in battle and been revived.
Jellal glanced at Hope, then turned and followed Silver away.
In the blink of an eye, only Hope and the demons remained on the scene, though one fewer than a moment ago.
Hope clapped his hands, smiling as he looked at the remaining five great demons. "Alright, now line up in two rows for me. The pretty ones stand on one side, the ugly ones on the other. I'm going to kill you now."
The demons fell silent instantly.
Among them, only Kyoka could be considered remotely beautiful. As for the others... "Bastard! What do you mean by that?!"
The four male demons with fierce or ugly faces immediately roared in displeasure. It wasn't their fault they looked like this; Zeref had molded them this way when he created them.
Although the new bodies reborn from hells core could alter their appearance, they would revert to their original forms once they used their demon forms.
Kyoka was different, however. Even after demonizing, her biggest changes were just some limbs and a change of skin; her overall beauty and elegance remained.
To be honest, the female demons created by Zeref were basically all good-looking. Sometimes these male demons couldn't help but suspect if their creator was sexually repressed... Lord Zeref must have had his reasons, but being treated differently by a human like this was something they couldn't tolerate.
Looking at the chattering demons, Hope decided not to hold back anymore. He hadn't expected these nonsensical things to obey anyway.
The next instant, his figure appeared before Jackal, who was shouting the loudest. A plain, ordinary Magnetic Field Punch was sent straight towards Jackal's face.
Where the fist passed, the air emitted a faint, strained hum. It wasn't some flashy magic, just pure, ultimate power and speed.
Jackal's pupils contracted sharply. In his shock, he was punched into a pulp.
The flesh and blood of the explosion demon were scattered everywhere.
"How is this possible?!"
"He wasn't even using his full strength before?!"
Seeing Hope shatter Jackal with pure power alone made the other four demons' desire to attack falter.
Hope ignored them. His right eye glowed with a cyan light. Through his 'Spirit Vision Eye', he immediately spotted Jackal's soul being guided by the hells core.
If he could keep Keis, where could Jackal possibly run?
The next second, Jackal's soul was grabbed by Hope and instantly refined.
"Turns everything it touches into bombs, huh."
After understanding Jackal's ability in detail, Hope quipped, "What a pity. Such an interesting Curse, but demons just don't understand that explosions are art."
Witnessing their companion being blown apart in one exchange and forcibly 'Taken Over' by Take Over magic, the remaining demons finally felt fear.
Their previous bravado was based on hells core's revival function. But now Silver had taken Jellal straight to the revival point. The demons' last bit of arrogance vanished.
Immediately after, an endless tide of fear surged in.
Hope had made his stance clear: he intended to Take Over the demons.
The pretty ones would be gifted to Mirajane.
The ugly freaks would be kept as experimental materials for researching Demon Slayer Magic.
Shaking his wrist, Hope's smile gradually turned twisted. "Shall I blow you up, or will you tear yourselves apart?"
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